1 The Supers before the Heroes
by Pengping
Summary: Pre-Thor. Thor is 13, Loki 12. OC Tilaria is about their age but elves age slower so its hard to tell exactly. First story of my Pre-Thor arc. Life on Asgard is normal until the Ambassadors from Alfheim arrive. With them comes the Light Elves Princess Tilaria. She meets the Princes and knowing them, things are bound to get interesting. No one however, expected it to get bloody...
1. New Faces

Loki stood on the roof of one of Asgard's buildings that overlooked Bifrost, and watched as it activated. His father had told him about the ambassadors from Alfheim, but Loki was still surprised that there were ambassadors. Relationships between Alfheim and Asgard had never been very good so for Alfheim's king, Hallien Amrasson, to have sent an ambassador surprised Loki.

No matter how surprised he was, it did not belay the fact that Hallien's ambassador, Arlen Vanderson, had arrived with his escort. Loki couldn't help but be curious about Arlen and the rest of the visitors. He had heard hundreds of stories about the Ljósálfr of Alfheim, but he had never seen one before. What stories would Arlen live up to, or disprove? Were any of the tales he heard accurate?

He remained motionless on the rooftop, standing still with tremendous effort. Autumn was on its way to approaching, but the breeze didn't chill Loki. Even if his ice magic didn't mean he was immune to the cold, he still wouldn't have noticed for he was so intent on getting his first look at a Ljósálfr.

Before too long Arlen and the other Ljósálfr with him exited Heimdall's Observatory, and stepped onto the Rainbow Bridge that connected the Observatory to Asgard's mainland and the golden palace of Gladsheimr. Instantly Loki used a charm to sharpen his vision to get a better look at Arlen and his escort.

The Ljósálfr lived up to their description of being the fairest creatures in the realms, with long golden hair, fair and unblemished skin, and exotic bird-like features. They wore little, but Loki supposed that Alfheim was a realm that had neither autumn nor winter and was in a state of eternal summer, so it made sense they wore little. It was the standard compliment of four visitors, the ambassador, an aid, and two warriors from their home.

The aid was female, and she wore a pair of capris made out of green cloth, slipper-like shoes, a pair of cloth cuffs on her wrists, and a sleeveless tunic with a high collar cut to show an inch of her midriff. That was the standard outfit for a Ljósálfr female, and males dressed the same but their vest-like tunics reached their waist.

Their guards were of two different factions, and one wore armor with a saber and wielded leaf-shaped shield. The one with him was a female and she wore a leather vest, bracers, and had a green-gray cloak. Clipped to the side of her belt was something that looked a hilt without a blade made of wood. Loki recognized that the one with armor was an Immortal Guard, the primary faction of Alfheim's military that was basically Alfheim's version of the Star Guard.

The one with the leather was a Silver Arrow, an elite group of archers and rangers who had once been the pride of Alfheim before being replaced by the Immortal Guard, and that wooden hilt clipped to his belt was his recurve bow collapsed into a smaller form for easy transportation. There were no real archers on Asgard, but Loki knew enough about archery to be surprised he had no quiver of arrows. Were the stories true that a Silver Arrow's bow could materialize their own arrows with a pull of the bowstring? Considering how commonplace magic was in the realms, Loki decided it was likely true.

Loki's emerald-black eyes widened when his gaze settled on Arlen. Unlike other Ljósálfr who had blonde or sometimes red hair, Arlen had hair as black as night. If Loki's knowledge about the Ljósálfr were correct, then black-haired elves were treated as third class citizens on Alfheim because their hair was black. It had something to do with the fact that the Dökkálfr of Svartalfheim had black hair, and that Ljósálfr took their vendetta against the Dökkálfr too serious. For a Ljósálfr to have black hair meant that they had strong Dökkálfr blood, supposedly anyway.

Why would Hallien chose a Night Hair, as they were called on Alfheim, to be his ambassador? As ever, Loki was curious. This time however, he didn't head down to Bifrost to find out. Even though Hallien had sent an ambassador things were still tense between the realms and Loki did not want to make things worse with lack of tact.

There was a feast tonight to welcome them to Asgard and Loki would be attending with Thor. He could stay quiet and listen to the conversation during that time, and perhaps the answer to his question would be mentioned. Unlike Thor, he knew how to subtle.

The younger prince of Asgard turned on his heel and vanished in a swirl of emerald-black sparkles in a teleportation spell, one of his favorite spell. His destination was the courtyard with an apple tree, a sort of training field where his brother surely was. It was where Thor always hung out with his friends.

Loki materialized in the branches of the apple tree, his appearance hidden by the tree's leaves. He wanted to tell Thor that Arlen had arrived, but he saw quickly enough that Thor was engaged in a sparring match. A charm coaxed the tree to temporarily move its branches aside so Loki could clearly see his brother. That was of no surprise to Loki, and he watched as Thor faced off against Sif. She had disarmed him and was standing between him and his training sword, and Thor was trying to retrieve it without taking a hit.

Loki rolled his eyes and sprawled out on the branch he had materialized on to watch. Telling Thor about Arlen's arrival could wait, for he knew that Thor would get upset with him if Loki interrupted their battle. Against his will, Loki felt a great temptation to ice over the grassy field and see how well Thor and Sif could do. He decided against it when he saw Thor dive past Sif, and grab his sword as he rolled and stood with his with blade in hand.

He looked around curiously, but didn't see his pet cobra sitting in the branches of the apple tree as he often did. Slítas normally stayed with Loki, but was likely out enjoying the break in the summer heat like Loki was. Loki didn't understand why the heat of Asgard's summers made him collapse since he was Asgardian, but he understood why Slítas hated it. His serpent friend was from Jötunnheim, and he had wandered onto Asgard and been adopted by Loki a century ago. Why Slítas liked being around Loki so much despite Loki being an Asgardian was yet another mystery.

"No way!" Thor shouted, and his voice made Loki look down through the leaves.

Loki had missed it, but somehow Sif had gotten past his brother's guard and now rested her wooden blade against his throat in a kill strike. She had a triumphantly smug smile. To the sidelines, Fandral watched with wide eyes at the turn the match had taken. Beside him Hogun sat silently and calmly, though he was watching as well.

"That is two points for me," Sif goaded as she lowered her blade and stepped back. "Care to surrender, my prince?"

Thor scowled in response, and the clear blue sky darkened as clouds began to move in. Loki rolled his eyes. The sudden change in weather was thanks to Thor's empathic connection to Mjölnir that had been established a century ago. Whenever Thor got upset he made it rain, and the more upset he got the more of a thunderstorm it became.

"Thor!" Fandral complained with a voice that had lost his cheerful edge. "Don't make it rain again."

Loki chuckled to himself, giving his presence away. Fandral hated getting soaked by Thor's storms. Thanks to Loki's laughter, Fandral was able to look up and see him through the leaves Loki had parted.

"Loki!" Fandral called up to the younger prince. "Can you stop your brother from making it rain?"

Loki was surprised that one of Thor's friends was addressing him, and he swung down from the branch with one hand still on the branch. "Why should I?"  
>Fandral was surprised by Loki's response, and Loki decided to press his taunt. It would amuse him, and distract him from his questions about Arlen.<p>

"Autumn is approaching," Loki reminded Fandral, "and a little rain is hardly out of season."

Loki kept up his innocent look as Fandral turned back to Thor with a huff. Then he climbed back onto his perch in the branch. It would be wise to let Thor cool off a little before bringing up Arlen, or maybe he should mention Arlen now to distract his brother.

While Loki thought about it, he heard a stick snap loudly behind him. It was only when he heard a giggle that he craned his neck towards the noise. He was at an odd angle to the noise, so he couldn't get a clear look. There was someone hiding in the shadows near the courtyard underneath one of the covered walkways.

Loki couldn't get a good look, so he sat up on the branch and turned towards the noise. By the time he moved however the person who had laughed was gone. It was curious, but Loki brushed it off with a shrug. From the sound of the giggle it was a girl, and probably one of the noble court girls looking for something to gossip over. Honestly, Loki could not begin to grasp why Fandral and his brother had such interest in them.

By now, the clouds had faded from the sky since Thor had calmed and he and Fandral were sparring. Hogun was watching them with his usual stoic demeanor, and Sif sat down on the grass next to him. She looked exhausted but pleased. Since Thor had started another sparring match, Loki laid back down on the branch to watch, deciding to wait to tell him about Arlen.

Loki looked over the group, seeing Thor, Sif, and two of the self-named "Warrior's Three." There was no sign of the third member of the Warrior's Three and Loki guessed, correctly, that Volstagg was raiding Gladsheimr's kitchen for snacks as usual.

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><p>The kitchens in Asgard's palace where Volstagg was sneaking around were busy. Servants and cooks were bustling around, and tonight's feast made the chaos even worse. He and Fandral were common born, and lived outside of Gladsheimr instead of within it like Sif, Hogun, and the princes did. Thanks to his friendship with Thor Volstagg was able to attend the feast, but like all attendees he was expected not to eat anything for the entire day leading up to the feast. It wasn't fair to Volstagg, who was always hungry, to not eat all day and right now it felt like he was on the verge of starving.<p>

The plump Godling trotted around the kitchen trying not to be seen for he knew he would get chased out with a rolling pin or frying pan if he was caught snitching treats, especially with the upcoming feast. Loki was the real expert at sneaking around unnoticed, but Volstagg was able to do a fair job in all the chaos. After a minute or so of clumsy "sneaking" and banging his head on a table once, Volstagg spotted his prey.

A maid had just set a plate of fresh, hot sweettarts on a nearby table and walked away. Volstagg licked his lips and got out from under the table, almost hitting his head again. He took a few steps and felt a warm breeze brush by him. In a kitchen with all its fires roaring it should come as no surprise, but there was a sort of substance to the breeze that made the air on his neck stand on end. While Volstagg hesitated, he saw a sweettart hover off the plate. A bite appeared in the sweettart, leaving Volstagg to stare.

"Loki?" Volstagg asked, assuming it was Loki since he was so good at invisibility.

"Huh?" he heard a voice near the hovering goodies asked.

Volstagg assumed it to be the invisible mage speaking, and he stared in horror as they accidently knocked the plate off the table. Perfectly good sweettarts fell to the ground, and Volstagg let his shoulders droop at the waste.

"Oops," the same voice apologized.

"Volstagg!" One of the cooks shouted.

He had been spotted next to the poor ruined treats.

"I didn't do it!" Volstagg shouted at the cook as he ducked under a flour covered rolling pin and hasty fled from the kitchen.

He didn't slow until he got to the courtyard where Fandral and Thor were sparring, and after taking a breath he hesitantly called out, "Loki?"

Loki was surprised that he was getting dragged into the conversation of Thor's friends again, and this time jumped down from his perch in the apple tree. His landing was silent, so Volstagg didn't know he was there until he turned his head and saw Loki an inch away from him. It surprised him badly enough that he almost jumped out of his boots with a yelp and fell down on his rear.

"Yes?" Loki asked calmly.

Because Volstagg was sitting, Loki was able to look down on someone instead of up. It pleased him, for he was usually looking up. Being short was annoying.

"How did you get here so fast?" Volstagg demanded Loki and stood up.

"Get where?" Loki asked again with a frown, wondering what Volstagg was implying.

"From the kitchens!" Volstagg insisted, but since Loki remained clueless he continued. "You knocked over a plate of sweettarts and got me chased out from the kitchen."

"Me?" Loki shook his head. "I've been here watching the sparring the whole time."

"Well who else can turn invisible?" Volstagg growled, and looked over his friends for support.

"Any other mage," Loki shrugged nonchalantly and leaned against the apple tree. "It's an advanced spell, but by no means impossible."

Loki was a little surprised that another mage was causing trouble since most of the others were well-behaved. He was the only one that couldn't help but cause trouble, and mischief was left up to him. Who was taking his place as prince of mischief?

His answer seemed to appease Volstagg. "Didn't sound like you I guess, more like a girl."

"Are you sure it wasn't Loki?" Sif challenged from where she sat.

"Do not insult my brother!" Thor warned and lowered his blade after defeating Fandral.

Sif rolled her eyes, and Thor opened his mouth to defend his brother further. He halted when he saw the mischievous glitter in Loki's eyes.

"Hey Sif," Loki started to tease.

Sif turned from where she sat defiantly, and it was luckily easy to look down on her since she was sitting. The smile Loki smiled made Sif narrow her eyes warily. There was mischief in his eyes.

"Better lock up any scissors you have," Loki warned in a quiet voice.

Fandral and Volstagg gaped, Thor grinned, and Hogan looked away. Sif went from wary to furious. She hadn't kept scissors on her nightstand since a century ago when Loki cursed her scissors to cut off her golden hair as revenge for her calling him a bastard. Her once beautiful hair had grown to its current dull brown-black color.

"Why you," Sif hissed.

She jumped to her feet, and threw a punch at Loki before Thor could stop her. Thor raised his hand, but Loki could take care of himself. Her punch threw her off balance and made when she hit Loki she was stunned that Loki dissolved into emerald swirls. She fell through the illusion of the younger boy, and since she had put too much energy in her swing she couldn't recover in time and fell flat on her stomach.

Sif could hear Loki's laughter from in the apple tree that he had climbed back up after creating his illusionary double, and Loki heard giggling again. It was the same giggle as before and this time Loki was in the perfect position to see a small, thin figure in the shadows. He condensed his magic and sent out an invisible ripple to the hidden figure. As he guessed, the girl in the shadows straightened at his magic's touch, proof she was also a mage.

There was a shimmer of fuchsia light around the figure, and she was gone as suddenly as she had appeared. An invisibility spell, Loki thought curiously. He knew that was the same giggle that he had heard earlier, and he knew the other mages on Asgard. That laugh had not come from any of them.

Was that the same girl Volstagg had mentioned had gotten him chased out of the kitchens? Loki wasn't sure, but he was curious now. More curious then he was about why a Night Hair like Arlen had been chosen as Hallien's ambassador. If she was one and the same, then who was she?

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><p><strong>Hello readers, to the first chapter of my first story in the pre-Thor arc. Everything in this arc happens before the first <em>Thor<em> movie, and leads up to it.**

**Ljósálfr (Light Elves) are introduced in such detail because they are a reoccurring race. Since Asgard is not the only realm in the NINE REALMS, the action does not occur on solely Asgard. Thor, his friends, and their parents are also not the only people on Asgard so there will be OC's to fill in the gaps.**

**As you might have guessed, a lot of things happened a century ago. The four-story arc of what happened a century ago is currently being posted. The first story of that arc is called "_A Different Kind of Courage_."**


	2. A Very Bad First Impression

Thor stomped down the hallway and flung open the gilded door of his brother's room. He was dressed in his formal clothes, his hair had been neatly combed, and he had taken a bath an hour ago.

"Brother!" He shouted as he stepped inside Loki's room.

He stopped walking when he saw that Loki's room was empty. Thor stared at it in exasperation and sighed. Malekith's betrayal five millennia ago had shattered the trust between the realms. Since that incident, no ambassadors had been sent to Asgard.

Arlen was the first one to come in five thousand years, and it was a big deal. There was a feast for them due to start in an hour, and Loki was nowhere to be seen. Didn't he know that as princes they had to go?

Something moved on the green sheets of Loki's bed, and a three foot long, black-scaled cobra raised its head up. It flared its hood briefly in curiosity, but when it saw Thor laid its head back down. Thor recognized Slítas, his brother's fully-sentient pet. Slítas was usually with Loki, so if he was here then was Loki?

"Loki, are you here?" He asked the empty air.

Thor remembered unpleasantly how one time Loki had stood in his room invisibly and listen to Thor rant about how Loki wasn't there. His laughter had been what had finally revealed his presence. It had been so embarrassing that Thor hadn't realized Loki was present.

He looked to Slítas, and the cobra clearly shook his head no. Thor sighed and hung his head as his shoulders slumped. Slítas himself never lied, so that meant Loki wasn't here. What a time for his brother to vanish, and when Thor had such news to tell him!

Thor had recently heard from his mother that it was not just Arlen, an aide, and two guards that had come to Asgard. There had been a fifth member of their entourage, and her name was Tilaria Halliendottir. The princess of the Light Elves, a girl only a little younger than Thor, was here on Asgard and she would be at the feast. An elfin princess!

Just as Thor imagined from her title, it was said that she was the most beautiful of all the elves. He couldn't wait to see her tonight! Thor hopped in excitement, and the childish movement made Slítas raise his head and tilt it at him curiously.

"Slítas," Thor asked politely and walked over to the cobra. "If my brother comes back before the feast, can you remind him about it? He won't want to miss the special guest."

Slítas thought about it and then nodded agreement.

"Thanks Slítas," Thor told him courteously with a smile and walked back out of Loki's room.

He closed the door behind him, aware that even with the door closed Slítas would be able to come and go as he pleased… somehow. Thor started to walk towards the library, certain that he would find his brother there. As he walked he couldn't help but remember the _other_ stories that he had heard about Tilaria besides her beauty.

There were darker rumors about her that mentioned shadows and blood, and foul play b her hand. Some said that she had tried to assassinate Hallien before. Thor didn't know what to think about those stories, but knew that the only consistent fact was that she half-Asgardian and was not King Hallien and Queen Anastasia's trueborn daughter. She was adopted, and the identity of her real parents was a matter of fierce debate among the maids and noble girls of the court.

It made Thor wonder about Tilaria's true intentions for coming here, but he pushed them out of his mind. The rumors about her being a killer were not confirmed, while the stories of her beauty were. Surely someone as fair as her was a friend.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Loki was sighing to himself as he took a delicate bite of roasted goose drizzled in honey. He had been dragged from the library by Thor earlier. Thor had been upset because he wasn't in his formal clothing, but Loki had easily used a few charms to fix his appearance and teleported back to his room to quickly change. It had taken him a fraction of the time to get changed that it had Thor.<p>

Thor sat to his right, doing his best not to fidget. Like Thor, Loki was bored. A bored Loki, as many on Asgard had quickly learned, was a dangerous Loki.

Normal feast on Asgard were jovial and loud things. The typical rules of dinner did not apply to them, as there was too much music and wine flowing for that. This feast was not like those. This time everyone spoke quietly and sat straight. Wine was drunk sparsely, and music was quiet. There were no sudden fights, no bets on who could drink the most, no clamor of vastly exaggerated stories being told over each other, and no drunken Æsir breaking into song or falling off the bench. All that was gone and had been replaced by an air of tense unease.

Thor sighed to himself, and Loki glanced at his brother. Normally Loki was the one sighing and Thor was the one who was in a good mood. Now their moods were reversed. The main reason for that was the seating. For the first time at any meal or feast, custom was upheld and Thor's friends were relegated to seating away from him.

Both princes sat with their parents in their formal itchy clothes, and Thor's friends were on the other side of the dining hall scattered from their different ranks. Hogun, as a prince of Vanaheim, sat near Loki and Thor but on the other side of Odin and Frigga. Sif was with the other noble court girls looking frustrated at being stuck with Jonelle and the other girly, gossiping maidens. Fandral and Volstagg were commoners and although they sat together they were the furthest from the princes. Although none of them were happy, Loki was enjoying the peace and quiet.

Loki was bored however, and was trying to figure out how to cause a little of his renowned mayhem without getting in trouble for it. While he thought about it he found it hard to ignore the other problem with the seating. Although Thor had eagerly told Loki about Tilaria's presence, a fact that surprised Loki since he hadn't seen her with Arlen when they arrived, she was not actually here. Her seat to the right of Ambassador Arlen's was empty, and Arlen had said that the trip by Bifrost had left her too ill to attend so she was currently resting in the suite the Ljósálfr ambassadors had been given to stay in.

Loki started to figure out the wording of his spell when Thor waved a servant to refill his wine goblet, his third refill tonight. Wine and goblets were two more things that the princes supposed to be at feasts, but usually weren't. Thor was going to have a Hel of a headache come morning, and Loki was certain Odin and Frigga wouldn't be pleased with Thor drinking this much if they happened to glance over.

Unlike his brother, Loki was still on his first goblet. The sweet wine was enjoyable, but it left Loki's head feeling cloudy. As a mage, it was dangerous for him to lose control of his emotions or thoughts as that might lead to his magic reacting on its own and damaging his surroundings. Personally, he'd rather cider or milk to wine.

Once he figured the wording out he lifted his goblet to his lips with one hand to feign a drink and hide his lips moving. No sooner had he whispered the first few syllables then did Arlen straighten. It was a small movement as Ljósálfr already had perfect posture, but something had clearly caught the Ambassador's attention.

The other elves had seen it to, and some of the Æsir had quieted. They were all looking in the same direction. Loki stopped whispering his spell, confident that it wouldn't activate on his own since he hadn't spoken enough and lowered the goblet to see what everyone was staring at. What he saw surprised him as well.

Servants were swirling around the tables in their garbs of brown, filling cups and changing empty plates and dishes for full ones as they brought out the courses. A figure who was most defiantly not a servant was walking among the servants and heading to the head table where the royals and other high ranking Æsir sat with the Ljósálfr ambassadors.

The figure was a girl about Loki's own age. She was beautiful, Loki saw that instantly, but he didn't recognize her. As she walked by the princes, Thor, who was either oblivious or drunk or perhaps both, slammed his goblet on the table yet again.

"Another!" Thor called and grabbed the beautiful girl who was no servant by her arm. "Servant, get me another!"

The girl stared at Thor as if he had grown horns and asked, "Another what?"

Her voice was pretty and easy to listen to. There was a slight ripple to her constantans and her even, clear, and precise wording made it clear she had a noble upbringing.

"Wine," Thor told the girl sharply and tightened his grip on her wrist, "ah."

He waved a hand in dismissal as if she was slow in the mind when she did not instantly give him more wine. Loki realized how quietly it had suddenly gotten in the dining hall, and glanced around at the gathered people. Most simply seemed entranced by her fair beauty, but the Silver Arrow Ljósálfr's jaw had dropped, and Arlen had a most curious and indescribable look. Odin looked like he was going to disown Thor then and there.

Loki still didn't understand what was going on, but suddenly the girl Thor had grabbed giggled at his foolishness. The sound made Loki sit up straight for he recognized it as the same laugh from the courtyard. Was this girl the mage hiding in the shadows who had gotten Volstagg chased from the kitchen?

He took a closer look at the girl, realizing that there was something familiar about her accent though he couldn't place it instantly. She was beautiful and her long golden hair that hung freely past her shoulders was even more alluring then Sif's had been before Loki had cut it off. Her skin was unblemished with just the right amount of blush and tan to be pleasant to the eye, and there was something feline about her facial features and the way she stood. Curiously, the irises of her eyes were fuchsia and gold glittered deep within her irises, proof that she had magic.

What Loki found even more startling then her eyes were her ears. Although her bangs framed her face and reached down to her shoulders, the rest of her hair was tucked behind her ears so they could be seen clearly. The tips of her ears were pointed just like an elf's.

With sudden clarity, Loki looked over her formal clothes she wore. It was no dress she wore for Ljósálfr had no concept of dresses, and her clothing was most certainly Ljósálfr in style. He half raised a hand in front of him as if to clap his hand over his mouth in horror. There were only five pure-blood Ljósálfr on Asgard, and since four of them were sitting at the table this girl could only be the fifth. **_Thor that oaf!_**

Thor seemed to realize that the girl he had ahold of was not a servant and so he asked in a voice with a slight slur to it, "who are you?"

"Who are you?" The Ljósálfr girl countered in her Ljósálfr accent.

"I am Prince Thor of Asgard!" Thor boasted and grabbed Loki shoulder, ignorant of how Loki was shaking his head for him to shut up. "And this is my brother Loki."

Loki seriously debated turning invisible, even if he got scolded for it later. This was something he wanted _nothing_ to do with. He guessed what his mother had told him was true at that alcohol really did remove the fetters of rationality, for in Thor's case the word alcohol was truly an antonym for coolheadedness.

The elfin girl nodded calmly, and then replied in a calm yet biting tone. "I am Heiress Tilaria Halliendottir of Alfhiem."

You could have heard a feather drop in the silence that greeted the Princess's words. Thor's eyes got as wide as dinner plates as her name sunk past the wine-clouded senses. His jaw dropped slightly and he looked desperately to Loki as red dyed his cheeks. Loki only hung his head and let his hair hide his features while he covered his face with a hand.

Tilaria turned from Thor to Odin as the Allfather stared with an amused expression belayed by the fact that her eyes were as hard and cold as jewels. "Pardon me for my late arrival Allfather. I was feeling ill after my trip on Bifrost but as I recovered, I thought I should attend this meal with the ambassador. May I eat? Or are your servants truly so understaffed that they require my aid?"

"No," Odin assured her humbly. "They do not."

After Thor's words and actions, there was nothing the Allfather could do but humbly accept anything Tilaria had to say. He had no defense and could hardly offend her more as his son had foolishly done. For the Allfather to be in a position where he had to be so humble was an unusual one.

With a tilt of her head by way of acknowledgment, Tilaria walked over to Arlen and took her seat by his side. While Frigga glanced past her husband to Thor, wondering how much he had drank and how Thor had managed to come into possession of enough wine to be drunk Loki had noticed Arlen making another move. As Tilaria took her seat next to him Loki saw the ambassador sort of tssk, and deliver a venomous look to Tilaria as if her presence near him was insulting. She was his princess though, so Loki didn't understand why her presence would insult him.

It was hardly the most pressing thing on Loki's' mind though, so it slipped away from his thoughts.

"Nice first impression Thor," Loki muttered to his brother instead.

His ideas of magically starting a food fight were forgotten in light of Thor's idiocy. Thor ignored his brother and stared at his food as if trying to set it afire with his glare. The shock of insulting the beautiful princess of Alfheim had sobered him up quite nicely.

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><p><strong>I just have two things to say. Thor is an idiot at times and it was a mistake to let him near alcohol. It was an accident since he was only supposed to be drinking apple cider, yet in the fluster of preparing for the ambassadors both princes ended up with wine. <strong>

**Two: yes, Loki was going to start a food fight. He was bored and i shouldn't need to say to anyone who knows Loki that it is really dangerous to let him become bored.**


	3. Half-Breed

_Crack!_

The sound of the slap echoed, but as the injury was inflicted within the walls of the suite that had been given to the Ljósálfr ambassadors only the Ljósálfr heard. Arlen lowered his hand with a perfectly neutral expression as if he did not care less about the injury he had given to the figure that stood in front of him. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter was that he didn't care.

Tilaria raised her head slowly, her silky golden hair falling over her face, not quite able to hide Arlen's handprint that glowed on her cheek. Her body healed the injury almost instantly, and the injury did not dull the furious fire within her crystal-like irises.

"Did I not act sufficiently elfin for you?" She hissed at Arlen in a tone that mocked respect.

The ambassador apprised her with his purple eyes, and their dark and stormy violet color echoed his own dark mood. "Although you did remind that fool Odin of his place you are no elf. My orders before we left Alfheim were clear to you half-breed. You are even more worthless then an Æsir for they at least know how to follow orders."

Tilaria gave no indication that Arlen's words hurt, for to her they didn't. It was simply how she was spoken to. What surprised Tilaria were not Arlen's words, but the fact that Arlen was the one speaking them. He was a Night Hair, so he was usually quite tolerant towards someone half-Æsir like her.

His personality had changed when she had tried to kill King Hallien, Arlen's oldest and first friend. After that "Uncle Arlen" had begun to distance himself from both Tilaria and Prince Eragon, Hallien and Anastasia trueborn son and crown heir to Alfheim's throne. Tilaria also didn't understand why Arlen was keeping his distance from Eragon either, and it wasn't fair on him.

"You were to stay in your quarters, not taint us with your presence at the feast held in my name." Arlen spat.

"I am your Heiress," Tilaria taunted.

_Crack!_

The second slap had Arlen's full force behind it and knocked her off her feet. Tilaria did not cry out or whimper like a weakling Æsir might have, and instead remained silently kneeling in front of Arlen. Hallien had Tilaria had often argued or fought before her attempt to kill him, but through all that Arlen had never been cruel or irrational towards her.

Why was he suddenly acting so different? Had trying to kill his childhood friend truly upset him this much? Arlen knew they always fought though, and whenever they did he usually stayed out of it and kept little Eragon distracted so Eragon wouldn't see his family fighting.

Arlen looked down at Tilaria, aware that no elf, not Ljósálfr or Dökkálfr, knelt. It was a stupid sign of submission that inferior races like the Æsir or Vanir did. He remembered Hallien's orders to him, and the reason why Tilaria had been allowed to accompany him to Asgard.

Tilaria was supposed to die. By having an heir to Alfheim's throne die on Asgardian soil things would become dangerous, but the true point that would goad thing into conflict was that Arlen was supposed to arrange it for her to be killed by Asgardians. Arlen's first guess would be to recruit the Golden Eagle faction here on Asgard that wanted Odin dethroned. They'd be eager to help start a war that would end in Odin's blood.

Since they were Asgardians, Asgard would be blamed for Tilaria's death. It would look like they no longer had control or the good will of its people, and Hallien would be able to say that Asgard had no place to rule the realms if it couldn't keep its own people from killing a visiting member of another royal family.

Odin would never give his power to rule away, so the Light Elves were prepared to take it by force. Tilaria's murder would mark the beginning of the end of Asgard's rule, and the start of Alfheim's own. Her murder would give Hallien the reason he needed to start a war against Asgard, a war the Ljósálfr would win. When Alfheim defeated Asgard it would take Asgard's place as the rulers of the Nine Realms.

One life was a small price to pay to be for that, especially the life of a mixed blood like Tilaira. If things went exceedingly well then Tilaria would befriend Asgard's princes, and so would be near at least one of them when she was killed and they would be killed with her. The ideal outcome was to kill both of Odin's sons with her, although Arlen would settle for just one prince. Thor was the crown heir and the most beloved by his father and Asgard, but there was something about Loki and his magic that unsettled Arlen. Either of their deaths would do although Thor's would be more demoralizing then Loki's, he had a feeling it might be safer in the long run if Loki died now.

"Return to your rooms." Arlen ordered Tilaria, keeping his hands away from her as if contact with her would contaminate him. "And remain there you mongrel, whose existence would dare dilute the perfect blood of the elves with such lowly creatures as Asgardians."

When he waved a short dismissal Tilaria stood in a short move that still held elfin grace and glided to the room she had been given, her emotional control preventing her from slamming the door behind her. What was going on with Arlen? As a Night Hair with supposed Dökkálfr blood he understood the prejudice against one who was half-Æsir as she was.

He had never acted like this towards her before, so what had changed? Was it really because of her attempt to kill Hallien? She hadn't actually managed to kill him though, so Tilaria didn't understand why he'd be upset with her. Why had Hallien even let her come to Asgard with Arlen and the others? What was going on?

* * *

><p>That night the Ljósálfr settled down to sleep in their wing. Gladsheimr was dark and quiet as everyone went to bed after the tense and disastrous feast. Tilaria was asleep with the other Ljósálfr in her room, and so was Arlen.<p>

Arlen's dream was not a dream so much as a conversation. Using a technique called Dreamspeaking he was currently in a conversation with an ally. He stood on an asteroid that floated in a small dimensional pocket. There were other asteroids in the field, and the light came from a blue star.

Standing across from Arlen was his ally Crow. Crow's initial appearance had been disconcerting, but he was used to him now. He wore a blue cloak with some cold highlighting. The hood was pulled up to hide the upper half of his face, but Arlen could still see the gold frame worn on his face. His skin was a washed out indigo-blue and he had two thumbs on each hand.

"It seems your king's plan is working," Crow told Arlen in a hissed voice that had made Arlen step back before he got used to it.

"Yes Crow," Arlen agreed with a nod. "I thank you for suggesting this idea of using Tilaria as bait to me, for it is working out wonderfully. Tilaria has no idea why she was invited to come to Asgard with me."

"I am glad," Crow informed him in an honest voice. "All you have to do now is contact the Golden Eagles to kill her and the princes."

Arlen nodded in agreement, and his lips parted in a smile. There was a slightly dazed look in his eyes from Crow's presence. His manipulation with Arlen was the first time Crow had tried directly to manipulate the soul of a Realmer in thousands of years. He wanted to make sure he hadn't lost his touch, for he would need it for his plans that followed.

"Are you sure it's wise to incorporate the Golden Eagles though?" Crow asked Arlen innocently.

"What do you mean?" Arlen lowered his eyebrows. "I know they will have no complaints about killing Odin's sons, and they won't hesitate at killing Tilaria even if she is young."

"True," Crow admitted as he tested how well he could sway a mortal's will. "But they are Asgardians. Who's to say they won't reveal you put them up to the killings? Æsir are hardly reliable."

Arlen quieted, realizing that neither he nor Hallien had given serious thought to that possibility. They had assumed that the Golden Eagles would be happy at the chance to overthrow Odin and would not jeopardize it. What if they did though?

Asgard had in the past taken the artifacts of realms they defeated and locked them in the Weapon's Vault so the defeated realms could never gather the power to challenge them again. From Jötunnheim's Casket of Ancient Winters to Surtr's mystical sword Twilight, many artifacts were hoarded there. By some miracle, Alfheim had managed to keep ahold of the Emerald Crown, its most powerful artifact. If Asgard found out about their plot to start a war, Alfheim might lose it.

Just as Crow had thought, only a few words were needed to awaken the mortal's fears. It had been child's play for Crow to convince Arlen of this plot to trade Tilaria's head for Alfheim's rule, even considering that Arlen was usually lenient towards Tilaria. Ever since Tilaria had tried to kill Hallien, Crow had been fostering the dark feelings in Arlen's heart.

This was the final act for Tilaria and the first for Crow, for if things went according to plan here than Crow would know he had not lost his touch when it came to manipulating mortals. Then he would be ready for the next step in his plan.

"What then?" Arlen asked warily. "The plan has been set in motion and our army is ready to move on Asgard. I cannot back down, Crow. Surely you know that."

"I know," Crow promised, "but why not change the plan a little and eliminate the middle man of the Golden Eagles?"

Arlen narrowed his eyes, dark violet as he was deep in thought. "What do you have in mind?"

Crow smiled in victory.

* * *

><p><strong>Readers, what do you think of Tilaria after this? I really want to get her character right so please leave a review and tell me what you think about her.<strong>

**I'm also a little curious about what you think about the Ljósálfr ****(Light Elves). Please tell me because if you don't then i have no way to know if i'm presenting my characters and the story correctly.**

**If you are reading ahead in my stories then you might know who Crow is. I won't say his real name, but i will say that he is interested in the Nine Realms for his own reason, and will keep returning. ****Twisting Arlen into this villain role is simply him testing his powers. His next act will be the real one.**


	4. Apples

The almost silent footsteps of Asgard's younger prince echoed uncomfortably. With the halls of Gladsheimr so empty the day after the feast where Thor had made a very bad first impression to Tilaria there was no background noise to cloak his steps. Loki wasn't used to being able to hear his steps.

He pushed it out of his mind for the moment as his top priority was getting to the library as quickly as possible. Normally he might simply teleport there, but for some reason he had a very low tolerance to alcohol and his head still hurt. Teleportation was a spell that needed the utmost degree of precision so he wouldn't teleport into a wall or door, and Loki did not want to try his luck by teleporting while his head hurt.

Was everyone hiding? Loki thought in amusement. The feast had not been as wild as they usually were so there shouldn't be very many people lying in bed nursing a hangover as Thor was.

The memory of last night's feast made Loki cringe. How could Thor mistake the Ljósálfr princess as a servant? After the feast, Odin had pulled Thor aside to try and deliver a fierce rebuke to him but Thor had picked the perfect opportunity to pass out from all the wine he had drank.

Odin would undoubtedly be heading to Thor's room now to repeat his earlier attempt at punishment, and Loki did not want to be anywhere near it for if he was he knew Odin would find _some way_ to make this partly Loki's fault. Thor would not be able to escape Odin's wrath, but this time Loki was going to leave him alone. It was Thor's own bloody fault that they had made such an impression to Tilaria.

Besides, Loki also needed to go to the library and look through the grimoire's to there to find a spell to make his formal clothes less itchy. Why were formal clothes always itchy? Was it some sort of rule that formal clothes were itchy because Loki would believe there was.

With his goals in mind, Loki decided it would be fastest to cut across the courtyard with the apple tree, Thor's raining yard. It was almost lunch by now, for Loki had slept in both because he had gone to bed so late and because of the wine he had drank. There might be others in the library, but his parents would look to his rooms first. By the time they finished with Thor and started to track down Loki their anger would have cooled.

The training field was empty at least, and Loki began to walk across it near the apple tree. He did so calmly so he wouldn't look suspicious. As he approached the tree its upper branches and leaves began rustling. Loki wasn't expecting that since there was no breeze and he looked up at it curiously. Slítas was still sleeping on his bed so it couldn't be his cobra friend. Who was it then?

"Almost got it, oh come here you obnoxious apple." A feminine voice ordered from the top of the apple tree.

Loki stepped back at the voice, remembering it from the feast last night. It was Princess Tilaria, and although Loki didn't understand why she was in a tree he knew it was her. He had escaped his father's scorn and didn't wish to get the same treatment from Tilaria as revenge for her being insulted so severely last night.

There was more rustling in the leaves, and Loki heard Tilaria say triumphantly. "I've got you now."

Her victory was cut off by an ominous cracking noise, and Loki did step back now as the branch Tilaria had been standing on broke. He heard and saw from the way the branches moved that Tilaria was falling. She had been standing on one of the thin branches close to the top of the tree, and she fell though most of its leaves before landing on a branch that didn't break with a thud. After that there was only silence from the apple tree.

Loki hesitated and looked at the tree for a sign of life. Normally, Loki would roll his eyes and look away after using a senseline to confirm the victim was okay but things were not normal right now and Loki didn't have his magic at his fingertips. After what Thor had done, it would be a very poor idea to leave the Ljósálfr's princess stranded in a tree with a concussion.

Realizing that he had to go and see if Tilaria was okay whether he wanted to or not, he edged over to the tree. There was still no sign of movement as he stepped under the shadow cast by its leafy canopy and tried to look up through the branches. Was he going to have to climb up there after her?

That was when something jumped down from the tree at him. Loki was already holding his breath in nervousness and the ambush made him give a cry of surprise and step back. In a move belaying Loki's usual grace he tripped over one of the apple tree's exposed roots and landed flat on his back.

He decided to stay where he lie and stared up at the tree's deep emerald leaves. There were a few red apples still in the branches, and Loki was certain his face was the same color as the fruit. The leaves rustled again, and someone more calmly leaned down from the leaves to Loki. It was indeed Tilaria.

She leaned down from the tree, still half in the branches above Loki with a curious look. "You Æsir really do scare easy."

Loki didn't appreciate the implied insult, and sat up in a slightly defensive manor. "Did you do that on purpose?"

Tilaria dropping from the branches had been what had scared him, and Loki didn't appreciate it if she had done it on purpose just to see if he would jump.

"Yes," Tilaria answered plainly. "I wanted to speak to an Æsir, but everyone has been avoiding me and acting overly courteous so it's a waste of time to speak to them."

"Um, t-that's from Thor, he, uh…" Loki stuttered, amazing himself that he couldn't say anything before Tilaria.

"He treated me as a servant, and a rather daft one," Tilaria reiterated. "I remember. Surely that would not be enough to cause everyone to shy from me."

"No one wants to insult you more after what Thor did so they're being overly careful," Loki explained.

Tilaria seemed to understand what he meant because she pulled herself back onto the branch and laid on it, taking a bit from an apple in her hand Loki didn't realize she had had.

"The sweetest apples are always on top, aren't they?" Tilaria asked neutrally and tapped a finger of the hand she held the apple with against its red surface.

Loki was surprised that she wasn't giving him an earful as she had Odin, and as Odin likely wanted to do. She wasn't offended from Thor? That was lucky for Asgard, and for his brother.

"They seem to be," Loki agreed carefully, amazed that she wasn't holding a grudge as any other noble would.

Tilaria took another bite from the apple in her hand, and it cruched loudly. "Normally I don't end up falling after I get my snack, but since the tree didn't warn me the branch was about to snap I didn't realize."

"Warn you?" Loki asked curiously, trying not to pry too much.

"Ljósálfr have a strong connection with Alfheim," Tilaria explained. "The trees don't like it when their branches break, so they usually warn us Ljósálfr to get off the branch before it does. It works out for everyone sine they don't lose a limb and we don't fall. It appears the trees on Asgard are in a very deep sleep to not even care when their branches break."

Loki let himself relax as he realized something obvious. He was judging Tilaria based on how the girls and people of court on Asgard acted. They were easily offended, but Tilaria was not Æsir. Luckily for Thor and Asgard, she didn't seem to hold any sort of grudge against them for last night. He stood in relief.

Tilaria lowered a hand through the leaves down to Loki, and Loki was surprised to see another apple in it.

"Do you want it?" Tilaria asked. "It's from the top like mine is. I don't think I'm in the mood to eat two and this one fell on me after the branch broke. I'd rather it not go to waste."

Loki was amazed by Tilaria's calmness. When it came to talking himself out of trouble he was a true silver tongue, and yet right now as Tilaria offered him an apple he had no idea what he should say. To think that Loki had believed he had broken his habit of stuttering shyness a century ago.

When Loki didn't take the apple, Tilaria looked over at him and saw his surprise at her offer. Did he think she would still be upset after last night? She had been called far worse things than a servant before, and Thor had called her that accidently instead of intentionally so there was no sting from it.

"What is it?" Tilaria asked curiously and hopped down from the branch and landed in front of Loki.

"You're acting different then you did during the feast," Loki informed her. "You were somewhat snippety to father."

"He is just an Æsir," Tilaria told him innocently, "and like most hopelessly arrogant. Surely there is no harm in putting him in his place."

Loki was Æsir, he thought, taking offense again. He might have replied, but he noticed that there was no venom or shadows of malice in her gaze. She wasn't trying to be offensive so much as simply telling the truth as she had been raised by.

"There are some Æsir who fit that description," Loki admitted, thinking he could name quite a few Star Guard, "but not all of us are like that."

"I suppose it's not possible for an entire species to be like that," Tilaria agreed.

"Um," Loki said as he tried to say something before things fell silent. "I'm surprised you were able to recover from Bifrost's sickness so quickly. Usually those who are affected by it need a night's rest instead of a few hours."

"Arlen did tell you I was sick I suppose," Tilaria said quietly and looked away from him.

"Told us?" Loki asked in surprise. "You mean you weren't really sick."

Tilaria glanced at him, and Loki was now curious.

"You weren't sick from Bifrost at all," Loki caught on and apprised her as he tried to figure this new mystery out. "That doesn't make any sense. You're the Ljósálfr's princess so why don't they want Asgard to see you? If they didn't want you then they should have just left you on Alfheim."

Tilaria was surprised that Loki had caught on so quickly and admitted that it seemed not all Æsir were battle-hungry berserkers who thought only of combat. Loki had managed to piece together the situation quickly enough.

"You are half-right," Tilaria said slowly, "but half-wrong."

"When you took your seat next to Arlen last night I noticed that he seemed annoyed with you," Loki said softly as a new realization came to light.

Now Loki was on the correct idea, and Tilaria figured that since he was about to guess it anyway she might as well keep talking. "You know I am only a foster child of the royal family, and that Eragon is the real heir, correct?"

Loki nodded and interlinked his fingers behind his back as he tended to do when he was listening intently to try and puzzle out new clues.

"Eragon was only a few days old when Queen Anastasia died," Tilaria continued. "She was the one who adopted me after my parents abandoned me. After her death, Hallien wanted to disown me and make me leave, but Arlen wouldn't let Hallien exile me. I'm still not sure why, but I know he and Hallien got into quite a fight over it. Arlen eventually won."

That was why she was so confused about why Arlen had been so vicious last night. He used to be almost protective to her and something similar to an uncle to her and Eragon, and kept an eye on them whenever Hallien was busy. Was Arlen really that upset because she had tried to kill Hallien?

"I understand that some foster children are treated better than others, but why did Hallien go that far?" Loki asked innocently.

Tilaria felt like telling Loki about her assassination attempt would be counterproductive so she looked away and found the second reason why they didn't get along.

"I am a… a halfbreed," Tilaria hesitantly spoke, aware that that alone was likely enough to make Loki turn away.

"Halfbreed?" Loki frowned and tilted his head to one side curiously. "I've never heard that term before."

Tilaria was startled that Loki hadn't. "Y-yes, I've been told my father is Ljósálfr, but my mother was Æsir."

"Oh," Loki realized although he didn't know the word halfbreed he knew what she meant. "You're a Halfling, and your parents are from two different realms. Halflings are said to sometimes have unique magic that outclasses the strength of either of their parent races. I can tell you're a mage, but I wonder if you can do stuff on that scale as well."

Tilaria realized that he'd actually complimented her mixed-blood heritage and shook her head once the surprise faded enough for her to move. "I am a half-breed, and my existence dilutes the Ljósálfr's perfect blood. Halfbreeds aren't supposed to exist. That's why Arlen told you I was sick, so he wouldn't have to suffer through my presence at the feast."

Although Arlen had never been like that in the past, acting as if he were Galia with such polarized views. Loki was used to causing mayhem and driving everyone crazy, so he had no idea how to respond to Tilaria's degrading words spoken with such surety. How was he supposed to respond to them?

"Yet you came to the feast," Loki said softly. "Although I apologize on my brother's behalf for his words, I am glad that you came."

Tilaria was surprised by Loki's words, but her magic could sense no lie hidden within them. She lowered her eyes, realizing that the stories were correct and that the Æsir were very different than the Ljósálfr. Being different however was not always a bad thing.

Tilaria held out the second apple from the top of the tree to Loki again without raising her eyes by way of thanks. Loki took it this time, aware of the feeling he had that Tilaria was like a wild animal that would bolt if he startled her. He took a bite, and smiled. Tilaria was right. It was sweet.

* * *

><p>The light reflected off the razor sharp edges of his twin blades as they were sheathed. Arlen had his orders, and Tilaria had just been seen walking to the dining hall with Asgard's younger prince. Crow was right, and it was dangerous to involve the Golden Eagles in their plot. Alfheim was ready for the war against Asgard, so all that was left now was the kill.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Crow did it, and now Arlen's going to kill Tilaria and the princes. Arlen actually is not a villain. In the past he was a friend, but things changed for it was only after Tilaria tried to kill Hallien that Crow began to speak to Arlen.<strong>

**What do you think of Tilaira now? She's acting different towards Loki then she was to the elves because unlike with the elves, she doesn't want Loki to hate her if it can be helped. Since the elves already hate her from her mixed blood, she doesn't see a reason to be polite or respectful to them, but Loki doesn't hate her for her blood. It's a fact that surprises her, and she's not really sure how to be polite and respectful to someone since she hasn't been doing it for so long.**


	5. A Not So Bad Second Impression

Even though Thor had missed breakfast he was not hungry. His hangover from last night's feast had not been so severe that he couldn't move, but he had stayed in there all day simply because of how embarrassed he was. Frigga had roused him anyway and shooed him down to the dining hall for lunch. She had said that Loki wasn't sulking in his room, but Thor knew that was because Loki hadn't been the one to call the princess of Alfheim a servant. Only Thor had done that.

Now he grumbled to himself about how unfair everything was as he stomped down the hall to the dining hall, unaware of how black the clouds outside Gladsheimr were. Thor glanced up from his walk just in time to see a black-haired figure turn the corner ahead of him. Sif had blackish hair because of Loki's curse, but it was artificial. Loki was the only Æsir to ever be born with black hair.

There was no sign of his brother he reached the place he had seen Loki and Thor glowered as he stalked down the hallway to the doors of the dining hall. He opened the doors quietly for once instead of slamming them open as he usually did a miracle in itself.

There were about a dozen Star Guard eating, but they were more or less the only ones there. The Star Guard had their off, and their swords were slung over the back of their chairs as they were off duty. All they wore were cloth tunics.

Thor was relieved that his quiet entry hadn't be noticed, and walked silently over to where his friends were sitting and eating. The only one missing from his clique was Loki, and he appeared a moment later, the shadows parting to reveal his presence. Loki was eating the last bites of an apple, and smiling as if smugly thrilled about something.

Loki's pleased expression made Thor wary, certain that his brother was in a mischievous mood. When Loki looked that pleased, wariness was wise. It was almost as dangerous as him becoming bored.

"Brother, what did you do now?" Thor asked, deciding to keep away from his seat just in case.

Those who heard his question looked up, fully aware of Loki's reputation as the prince of mischief.

Loki was saved from answering by a painfully familiar voice that almost made Thor cringe. "There are less people here then there was last night."

"That's because it's not such a formal meal," Loki replied calmly. "Everyone isn't required to eat at the same time so they come here when they get hungry. It spreads out the crowd. After what happened last night, I'm sure many are hiding in their rooms."

Loki walked away from Tilaria who had also stepped out of the shadows behind him and to his seat with an almost feral stride. Although Tilaria nodded and accepted his explanation she didn't move from the doorway. For some reason she looked wary.

While Loki walked smoothly to his seat, Thor stood midway between the doorway and the table like a moron. He could think clearly since the wine had worn off, but he had no idea what to do after making such a fool of himself last night. Anything he said would likely only backfire.

"We don't bite." Loki called out again when he realized Tilaria wasn't moving. "You might get a bit of thunder from the Godling on my right if he gets mad, but that's all."

He waved his hand in Thor's direction when he said that and took a strawberry from a bowl. Strawberries were Loki's favorite, and the servants had learned by now to make sure there were always strawberries at the table where Thor and his friends sat for Loki. These were good strawberries.

Thor forgot Tilaria was there and glared at his brother instead, retorting in a sharp voice. "I do not make it thunder when I get mad."

"No," Loki admitted, and his surrender made Thor start to smile until Loki finished his thought. "You usually make it rain to."

Thor's smile dropped to a scowl, "do not."

"Do to." Loki replied smugly and took another bite.

"Do not!" Thor retorted in a louder voice.

"Do to." Loki repeated in the same calm voice.

"I DO NOT!" Thor shouted and stomped his foot in a childish manor.

His temper finally reached the point where the diners could hear the rumble of thunder from outside. Fandral groaned and slouched in his chair as he hung his head, distraught at the idea of having to walk from Gladsheimr back to his own home in the town in the rain.

"Thunder," Loki replied smugly as he was proven right and set the strawberry stem on the edge of his plate before reaching for another. "Give him a minute more and it will be raining."

"Loki," Thor warned in an irritated voice that was accented by another rumble of thunder.

"Yes brother?" Loki asked innocently, making his eyes get all big as he faced off against his glowering brother.

Thor's reply was cut off by Tilaria's laugh. It was a beautiful musical laugh reminiscent of a wind chime. She smothered her laugh when everyone glanced away and looked down the hallway while the tips of her ears turned red. Was that how Ljósálfr blushed, with their ears turning red instead of their cheeks? Loki thought curiously, not all that surprised by Tilaria's reaction based on what she had said earlier. It wasn't bad that she had two parents from two different realms.

"Do you intend to eat over there?" Loki asked her patiently, readily ignoring his brother as he finished his second sweettart and offered it to her. "Do you want one?"

"No," Tilaria whispered.

"No to the first question or the second?" Loki pushed.

Sif kicked him under the table uncharacteristically, not appreciating Loki's mannerisms. Loki jumped a bit at the kick, not expecting it.

He muttered "ow" softly and glanced back at her.

"Stop," Sif warned verbally as if her kick wasn't determent enough.

Loki muttered something about scissors again, and pulled his feet under his chair to avoid Sif's next kick.

"No to both," Tilaria finally answered Loki's question and walked over to the table, not intending to stay by the doorway after all.

Tilaria now approached, and both Thor and Fandral took advantage of the chance to get a better look at Alfheim's princess. Fandral hadn't gotten a good look because he had been sitting with Volstagg and the other commoners on the other side of the hall from the head table, and Thor had been too drunk to see her clearly. Now that they could see her, they agreed that the stories of her being the most beautiful on Alfheim were not exaggerated.

Ljósálfr typically dressed in clothes of varying shades of green, white, gray, and khaki. Even though the colors were bright and rich they somehow allowed the Ljósálfr to fade into the shadows of Alfheim's forest. They never wore shades of red or black as those were a Dökkálfr's favorite colors, but it was not uncommon for them to wear shades of blue or other colors that resembled flowers. Tilaria's outfit was in the latter category and in shades of magenta and rose pink the color of flowers, decorated with white vine-like swirls.

All of her clothing had the same color scheme and pattern, and like many Ljósálfr she wasn't wearing very much. Her clothing was comprised of a sleeveless tunic with a high collar cut to show her midriff, skort that came down to mid-knee, a pair of cloth bracers that went from elbow to wrist, and a pair slipper like shoes.

Ljósálfr had no concept of dresses, skirts, or anything of the like so it was a little surprising that she was wearing a skort like an Æsir. She was half-Æsir though, so perhaps it wasn't so odd that her clothing had a few Æsir attributes. What also surprised the gathered Æsir was how little she was wearing.

She had a pair of black boots and a skirt that came down mid-thigh. There was a pair of cloth vanguards that went from elbow to wrist. Her sleeveless tunic had a high neck line with an intricate collar, but it was cut off to expose her midriff. That was all.

Neither teen had seen a girl wearing so little, but she did come from a realm that lacked winter. Along with her clothes she wore a dirk on her left hip, and Loki thought from the way the cloth of her bracers moved that she had weapons hidden in them like Loki had dagger hidden in his. There were no other weapons in sight, but she might have some hidden in a subspace fold.

Loki held out the sweettart to Tilaria again, but Tilaria shook her head at the pastry. "I already had some or one at least. The rest fell on the floor."

"So it was you!" Volstagg interrupted her suddenly and stopped eating. "You were the one who got me chased out of the kitchen yesterday! You ruined all those perfectly good sweettarts."

Tilaria fidgeted nervously, aware that all of the Æsir present were looking at her. She would normally snip back at whoever was taking such a brisk tone with her, but she didn't want the Æsir to despise her. Everyone on Alfheim hated her because she was a halfbreed, but it might be different on Asgard. She didn't want to alienate them if there was a chance they might like her.

Volstagg shrugged to her surprise, and said cheerfully. "Oh well, I'm always getting chased out of the kitchen. I'm Volstagg Bisison."

Once Volstagg introduced himself the rest of Thor's friends did the same. Fandral was the first to stand from his seat.

"I am Fandral Emundrson, milady," Fandral introduced eloquently, and bowed so low he almost hit his head on the table's edge. "I am at the beck and call of one as dazzling as yourself."

Sif rolled her eyes at his flattery, but Tilaria only looked more confused as the Ljósálfr had no concept of flattery. Hogun was the next to speak and he stood as Fandral did although he did not attempt flattery.

"Prince Hogun Kyison of Vanaheim," Hogun introduced stiffly, using his mother's name as his surname rather than his father's as was the custom of Vanaheim.

"Ah," Fandral interrupted teasingly as both boys sat down beside each other, "A rare sentence from our silent swordsman."

Hogun glanced at him but went back to eating without saying anything, as usual.

"Since we're doing introductions," Sif interrupted, "I am Sif Hamarrdottir, milady."

Sif remembered to mind her manners even through the casual tone of voice.

"You were the one sparring with Thor," Tilaria nodded.

"And winning," Sif replied instinctively though she was surprised.

This girl had been spying on them and wandering Asgard's kitchen as if she owned Gladsheimr? It made Sif a little wary, and Tilaria's obvious arrogance put her off a little. She was the first girl Sif had seen besides herself to be wielding a blade, but she suddenly wondered if they would get along.

"She already knows me," Loki said softly once the quiet resumed with a purr to her voice. "She almost fell out of the apple tree as I was walking by."

Loki's comment made Fandral frown, so the fencer spoke up again with flattery in his words. "What was a fair maid as yourself doing in the apple tree?"

"I wanted an apple," Tilaria explained simply, "since the sweetest apples are usually at the top of the tree where they're hard to reach I had to climb."

Her wording put Sif off again although Sif hid it well. She was used to hiding her annoyance since she was told so often to stop playing with dangerous items like swords and to behave as a woman should. Tilaria was also stealing apples from the tree as if it was hers?

"Loki was walking by when the branch I was on broke," Tilaria finished, deciding the answer was close enough to the truth to be accepted.

Thor suddenly realized that not only was he still standing like an idiot, but he was the only one who hadn't introduced himself. He figured that after last night he didn't really have to, but it might be a good idea to repair the damage done by calling her a servant. In a manner that might be called shy, a word never used to describe Thor before, the elder prince stepped forward.

"I was drunk," Thor said before introducing himself, using an excuse for defense as he was not used to apologizing, "and an oaf. Sorry."

Was that how an apology was supposed to go? Thor wasn't sure.

Tilaria really hadn't been offended last night although she'd acted as much to try and satisfy Arlen's new personality. "Perhaps a reintroduction?"

That satisfied Thor and he nodded. "Thor Odinson, crown prince of Asgard."

"Heiress Tilaria of Alfheim," Tilaria dipped her head while Thor bowed slightly to her.

"Good," Volstagg interrupted yet again as he continued eating. "_Now_ will you eat?"

Tilaria stepped towards the table as Thor took his seat besides Loki, but she hadn't gone two steps before Loki saw something glimmer by the doorway as if the light was reflecting off the blade. Loki realized in horror that was exactly what it was and he called out a warning to Tilaria, jumping out of his seat as someone threw the blade straight at her.

* * *

><p><strong>Here comes Arlen, and after everything Crow's done he's hardly stable anymore. I am glad that Tilaria is getting along with Thor and his friends after that disaster last night, but depending on how much success Arlen has in killing Tilaria and Odin's sons it could be a very short lived friendship.<strong>

**Will Loki's warning be enough? Read on and find out.**


	6. Shadows of Blood

Time seemed to slow. The thrown blade spun end over end, heading straight for Tilaria. She heard a shout of warning, and grabbed her dagger at her waist.

Her blade came up just in time to deflect the thrown dagger upward. She stared at the figure in the door who still had his arm still extended from the throw. As the would-be assassin's blade came spinning down, Tilaria held out her open hand and caught the hilt squarely in her palm without moving her eyes.

"Arlen?" She whispered her attacker's name.

Time returned to normal. The ambassador from Alfheim stared at Tilaria with murder in his eyes, but there was no sign of the rest of his entourage. Arlen couldn't believe that Tilaria was still alive since his aim had been dead on, but Odin's younger son had noticed his attack. Just as Arlen had thought, Loki was trouble.

With his throwing blade in Tilaria's hands Arlen drew twin daggers, eight-inches long and double edged. Rather than kill Asgard's princes he still had to deal with the halfbreed. Loki had sharp instincts to be able to sense his attack.

"Crow was right," Arlen sighed, "you are trouble, boy."

He looked at Loki when he said that, but spoke quietly enough that only Tilaria heard him? Crow? She'd never that name before. Who was that?

The slight delay was all the Star Guard needed to break free of their shock and draw their swords. Loki stood to and hopped form his chair to land on the ground behind Tilaria, his twin daggers hidden in his black bracers fell to his palms. Unlike Loki, the other children had only their training gear, but Thor grabbed the knife off the table he had been using to cut the lamb.

Arlen looked at the Æsir in disgust and moved his lips. He let his daggers hover in midair as he flicked his hand in a few hand signs to cast. Tilaria and Loki both realized what he was doing, but Tilaria was closer. Crimson light like dust flickered at his fingertips as he plucked his blades out of midair and met Tilaria's swing, twisting his blade past her guard and slicing open her cheek before she managed to jump back.

Loki knew he wouldn't make it in time so he slid to a stop while Thor idiotically lunged past him. The air condescended into a dome shaped forceshield, tinting the air around its perimeter red. The forceshield solidified just as Thor touched the perimeter and he was caught in the middle of the charm.

There was an explosion of red sparkles like a firework, and Thor was thrown back past Loki. He hit his head on the table's edge with a sickening crack and landed on the chair, half-falling off of it to the floor. His makeshift weapon fell to the floor behind him with a clatter. Loki recoiled at his brother's injury, knowing that getting caught in the middle of a forceshield as powerful as that one could easily kill a non-mage like Thor.

He was forced to look away from the forceshield and run to Thor. Loki sent out a ripple of magic ahead of him instinctively, and it confirmed that Thor still had a heartbeat before Loki reached his side. It relieved Loki immensely as he knelt beside his brother and trailed his fingers through his brother's hair. Their tips turned red, but it was damnably lucky that he was alive.

Fandral crouched by Loki's side while Sif dumped her food off her plate and threw it at the forceshield. When it hit it, the metal plate shattered into dozens of pieces and each pieced smoked red-hot as if it had been sitting in a fire for a while. The forceshield Thor had hit was certainly of a high level.

The scratch on Tilaria's cheek healed almost instantly and she faced off against alone, alone with him. She did not turn her back on Arlen to look at Thor, aware that he could easily have been killed. There was no desperate shouting for Thor to wake up or wails so she assumed that he had survived.

"Nowhere to run now, mongrel," Arlen snarled.

"I'm not running," Tilaria promised him steadily.

She raised her straight dagger and the one Arlen had thrown slowly as she fell into stance. Tilaria was aware that she was out of her league fighting Arlen, even though she sounded fierce. This was not going to be an easy fight to win, and in all honestly she didn't think there was any way she was going to survive this.

Why was Arlen trying to kill her _now_? And _why_ in the middle of Asgard's dining hall? Wouldn't it make more sense to kill her on Alfheim? Did that Crow person have something to do with this?

Arlen lunged forward and Tilaria discarded her questions, raising her own daggers in defense.

One of the Star Guard whisked Thor off to the Healer's Ward and dragged Thor's friends with him so they would be safely out of the way. All Loki had to do was turn invisible and he was forgotten as usual, left behind to watch the duel between Tilaria and Arlen. It was astonishing to him the difference in their skill level compared to his own, and made it painfully clear how weak he was. The speed of their blows alone was astounding.

Tilaria's inexperience and young age were also becoming clear, for although the wounds Hallien had inflicted were healing the red stains on her clothing proved where she had been hurt. A little bit of red had splattered onto the floor or onto the surface of the forceshield. There were no red stains on Arlen's clothes yet.

As he watched the blood on the forceshield run down to the ground, he reached out with his magic for a weak spot in the forceshield. All he needed was a brief breach to implant a shard of his magic in the forceshield and shatter it from the inside out. His killhex's simply dissolved on contact with the spell, and the forceshield seemed to double as an anti-magic field for Tilaria wasn't using magic to try and shift the balance the fight.

Anti-magic zones were way above Loki's level or knowledge, and he neither knew how to override one nor break it. Why was he so weak? His weakness was going to cost Tilaria because he could see that she was starting to tire.

Was the forceshield draining Tilaria's magic to fuel itself? What a nasty spell, to not only eliminate your enemy's magic, but to have _their_ lifeforce be drained to fuel the very thing that was canceling their magic. Time really was of the essence. If she stayed within that thing long enough then she'd black out and eventually her heart wouldn't have the energy to beat.

Tilaria and Arlen's daggers locked on each other, and she tried to slide his dagger away from her when a wave of dizziness made her head bob and her eyesight blur. The strength left her arms for a moment, and Arlen was quick to take advantage before she recovered from the drain of Seidr.

Arlen slashed her arm with one of his blades, tearing through her bracer and her arm in a wash of blood as he struck so deep his dagger scratched the bone of her arm. The pain made her drop the throwing blade she had taken from Arlen drop to the ground as he struck with his second while her balance was off. Loki almost fell of the table when Arlen stabbed her, blade in a forward grip, up between her ribs.

He saw Tilaria's lips move in a silent cry as her grip on her dirk failed and it clattered to the ground. Tilaria slumped to the ground as her body realized it didn't have enough lifeforce left to instantly heal her wounds. Arlen stood over her with a satisfied look, and Loki growled like a wolf softly. There were Star Guard ranged outside his forceshield around Loki with drawn swords, but most were not in armor.

Arlen calmly analyzed the situation outside his forceshield with steady eyes, noticing the lack of armor. Star Guard, like the Immortal Guard on Alfheim, were used to fighting with the protection of armor. If these Star Guard were like the Immortal Guard of his home then the lack of armor would make them easy targets.

The other thing that surprised Arlen was that the younger prince of Asgard Crow had warned Arlen about was sitting on the table. He knew that it was like Crow had said, he couldn't trust the Æsir. Not even the Golden Eagles, which was why Arlen had to kill her himself. It wasn't likely he would leave alive, but neither would Tilaria or the young prince who had foolishly stayed.

Taking his time, Arlen tucked his throwing blade into his belt and then picked up Tilaria's fallen dagger. He whispered the counter-spell and his forceshield stopped draining Tilaria's lifeforce. Without the steady influx of life to fuel it, it flickered and began to fade.

Of course the Star Guard tensed and readied. Before the forceshield dissolved completely, Arlen threw Tilaria's blade at Loki. Some movement had drawn the prince's eyes away, and by the time he heard the sound of a blade cutting through the air it was too late.

Arlen smiled as Tilaria's dagger hit him, and then gawked when it went through him. The illusion of himself that Loki had cast to sit on the table and be a target had done its job, so he dismissed it into a pile of rippling sparkles of magic. It was surprising for Arlen to see that for creating a lifelike and life size illusion was, oddly enough, exceedingly rare and difficult. That was the moment when the Star Guard engaged him though, so Arlen let Loki's startling skill fade away as he raised his daggers and fell into stance.

Loki, the real Loki, had been hovering near the forceshield invisibly. The forceshield had fierce recoil to it to prevent any physical damage, and it had absorbed Loki's spells to feed itself so there had been nothing for Loki to do but wait. It was close, but the forceshield came down and Arlen was distracted so Loki took advantage of the chance to reach Tilaria's side. She was still alive.

He splashed through the blood and dropped to his knees beside her, unaware of the blood soaking into his pants. Loki focused his magic to his fingertips and hovered them above the injury on her side, beginning to weave a healing spell. Once he stopped the major bleeding he'd have to give Tilaria a dose of his magic to stabilize her lifeforce. Tilaria stirred and opened her eyes partly before Loki finished healing.

"Don't move," Loki warned her quietly as the sounds of battle between Arlen and the Star Guard created a background of white noise. "I'm not that good of a healer."

It was moments like these that Loki wished Sigyn were still alive. She was a healer, and a good one. Sigyn would be able to heal Tilaria easily, but she had been killed a century ago when the Jötnar had invaded Asgard.

_*I've taken worse*_ a voice inside Loki's mind whispered, startling him. _*What about Arlen?*_

Loki stared at Tilaria, aware that he had heard her voice, but hadn't seen her lips move. "The Star Guard are keeping him busy. You, are you a telepath?"

*A true one* Tilaria

Telepathy was almost as rare an ability as creating realistic illusions because you had to be born a telepath. Mages could learn to broadcast their thoughts to other mages, but to be titled a true telepath you had to be born with the ability. If you didn't have it then you didn't have it.

There was a tremendous crash, and Loki looked up as he reflexively palmed one of his dirks. Arlen had flipped a Star Guard onto one of the tables and the guard had knocked a fair amount of the food onto the floor as he fell off it to the ground. Loki's hand curled around his blade's hilt started trembling when he realized that of the dozen or so Star Guard who had faced off of Arlen initially only two were still standing. How had he tore through so many so quickly, and why didn't Arlen look like he'd even been injured?

Even as Loki watched, Arlen dispatched one of the two when he cut his throat and threw his throwing blade at another, the blade getting him in the left eye. Loki was suddenly consciously aware of the difference in his and Arlen's experience, and in their body counts. How was he supposed to fight someone that strong?

Loki was dragged out of the shock before he fell too deeply into it by Tilaria grabbing his hand that had been healing her. The contact grounded Loki, and he looked at her from Arlen. His dagger was still shaking.

_*Help me*_ Tilaria asked Loki telepathically, her voice as soft as a moth's antenna and echoing slightly within his skull.

Loki nodded, and his dagger stopped shaking at the calm confidence Tilaria's thoughts conveyed. He didn't know what she wanted him to do, but helped her sit up so she could dip her fingers in the blood on the ground and begin to trace a symbol on the floor. It was a symbol Loki didn't recognize, and he had read half the books in Asgard's library.

The symbol was a five point star with five straight strokes, inverted. A slash went from the downward facing point down. There were also feather-like wings that resembled narrow ribbons to either side of the star and the slash that pointed outwards.

She whispered words in an alien language as she drew the symbol, a language Loki had never heard before and one that had not been spoken in five thousand years since the Dökkálfr's extinction during the Convergence. Arlen turned just as Tilaria fell quiet. The bizarre symbol glowed a dark red-black before vanishing. Loki had no idea what that was supposed to have done, but Tilaria smiled confidently, and revealed her canines were elongated into fangs.

Then the blood scattered around on the floor by the two of them, everything on their clothes, and even the blood from the dead Star Guard dissipated like a mirage. Loki didn't realize what was going on until the light in the room seemed to darken, and the air became so thick with the scent of blood that it became hard to breath. Arlen hesitated, and Loki covered his mouth with a hand as he coughed. This magic that Tilaria was using was blood magic, forbidden magic.

The disturbing twisted aura of blood magic made Loki want to flee, but Tilaria had a tight grip on his hand. A chill began to set into Loki's fingers and travel up his arm as Tilaria siphoned off his lifeforce in place of her exhausted own to work the blood magic spell. Even as the air in the dining hall darkened to a twilight gloom as if they were on Jötunnheim, Loki saw Tilaria's shadow take on a different form then hers.

Her shadow morphed and moved even though her body did not shift, and separated itself from her. Loki stared at the unexpected occurrence as it morphed into the form of a stalking wolf. The wolf shadow sniffed the air and then reached out a paw. Its paw lifted off the floor and took on the third-dimension. With a little trouble, the shadow wolf's other paw entered the third dimension and it pulled its entire body free of the second dimension. It shook its mane as it adjusted to being three-dimensional and corporeal.

The shadow-wolf turned towards Tilaria as if awaiting her order and she said "Vae'jara."

It took a second for Loki's mind to catch up with the fact that a persona's shadow had suddenly become three-dimensional and the wolf had already turned away from her to Arlen before Loki understood her word. Vae'jara was the Ljósálfr word for kill. Kill, a harmless shadow made from light hitting your body, was going to kill? Was this blood magic?

Arlen stepped back, also affected by the blood magic's twisted, fear-inducing aura. Then the wolf pounced on him as if it was a real wolf. Of course, Arlen slashed with his dagger, and the dagger sliced open the wolf's jugular. This was not a real wolf however, and just a shadow so Arlen's dagger did as much good as if he was striking at the air. The wolf's black teeth were not so useless, and Loki flinched when those teeth crunched into Arlen's throat with a sickening sound Loki had never heard before.

Arlen tried to scream but all that came was a chocked gasp. Loki started trembling again without meaning to, and watched as Arlen's eyes glazed over and his body in the shadow wolf's jaws went limp. He could hear a lapping gulping sound as the wolf drank Arlen's blood, and it was near enough that not a single drop of blood touched the ground.

Once it was finished with its meal, the wolf released its hold on Arlen's body, and raised its head towards Loki and Tilaria. Its eyes were now pure red orbs the same color as the fallen blood with a liquid sheen to it, and its teeth were also red as if the more blood it drank the more corporeal it became. It walked over to them, but Loki was saved from the possibility of bolting for as it walked it faded into the second dimension and rejoined with Tilaria's body without a sound. Once more, it looked like an innocent shadow.

That was the moment when reinforcements came onto the dining hall, but skid to a stop at the numerous bodies and disaster before them. Tilaria had slipped unconscious, so Loki cradled her head in his lap. He was the only thing still conscious in the hall, and the Star Guard calmly walked over to him. The threat was passed.

Tilaria had used blood mage, the Dökkálfr's signature magic, even though she was a Ljósálfr. Now Loki thought he understood why blood magic was one of the forbidden branches of magic as he brushed some of Tilaria's bangs from her eyes. Blood magic, what a terrifying weapon.

* * *

><p><strong>As you guessed, blood magic is not a good type of magic. There are actually five types of forbidden magic: blood, Fel, transfiguration, necromancy, and manmagic. There will be more details revealed about these magics as the stories progress. <strong>**I could not resist telepathy, since I love the idea of it so you have one "true telepath."**

**I know the upside down star is a "bad symbol" to some people, but blood magic is a bad type of magic. You'll see how it corrodes the minds of its users and that it's a fitting symbol for it in this _fictional_ universe. I am not trying to offend anyone one way or another, and this is fictional so please don't get offended for mentioning things like this star, which is the symbol of blood magic and seen to some as the devil's symbol.**


	7. Why

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I BLACKED OUT? I MISSED ALL THE FIGHTING?!" Thor couldn't help but wail in dismay as he lay in one of the beds in the healing ward with a sore head.

Frigga stroked her elder son's arm soothingly to try and calm him. That "fight" in the dining hall had been a slaughter. Of the elven Star Guard who had combated Arlen, only four were still alive and only two had a chance of a full recovery. She was pleased beyond words that Thor and his friends had evaded the fight, and although she was upset that Loki would risk his safety by staying behind she was still glad he was alright.

There was a knock on the door and Sif and Hogan inched in. Fandral and Volstagg had been dismissed back to their homes outside the palace without knowing if Thor would be alright, but some of his friends remained. Frigga smiled at them and stood with a rustle of her skirts.

"Keep him in bed," She ordered Thor's friends.

They nodded, and Frigga heard Thor plead to her as she left. The amount of energy her elder son had was astounding, but he was to stay in bed. Arlen's forceshield had been a particularly nasty one, and Thor had gotten caught in it as it activated. That was the worst thing that could have happened, but somehow he had survived. Frigga thought some of Thor's good luck was because of his connection to Mjölnir. At the same time Thor had been hurt there had been an energy spike from Mjölnir, so it was likely it had somehow sheltered Thor.

She walked up to Eir, the chief healer within Gladsheimr as he dispatched some of the alycotes to help with the injured Star Guard. Up until recently, he and his daughter Fey had been busy tending their youngest patient. The fact that both Eir and Fey had left her side meant that she had been stabilized.

"Any change?" She asked.

Eir shook his head no. "It is just a matter of time before she recovers from the blood loss, but I cannot imagine what she did to drain her magic so much. Magic is tied to life force as you know, and she is almost out of magic."

Frigga nodded. She knew all about magic, as she was a mage herself and the one who had taught Loki. One of the healers called him, and Eir hurriedly left Frigga's side to help with one of the survivors. She let Eir go, and walked to a private room. Standing outside it was the Silver Arrow, but Arlen's aid and the Immortal Guard were not present.

With a nod at the Silver Arrow, Frigga entered the room. There were two people within it, Tilaria, who had slipped into a coma from Seidr exhaustion, and her newest guard. Tilaria's guard raised his head at Frigga's entrance without turning.

"Mother," Loki greeted in a quiet voice as if he was worried about disturbing Tilaria.

"Hello my dear," she replied to him.

She glided over and set her hand on her younger child's left shoulder. Loki looked tired and leaned against her arm. It had been two days since Arlen's failed attack and death, and Loki had stayed in the Healer's Ward the entire time. Initially he had needed to because his lifeforce was a little drained, but now he stayed because he wanted to and split his time between his frustrated brother and Tilaria, who had not awoken since her fight with Arlen.

"Why won't she wake up?" Loki asked Frigga sadly. "I know her lifeforce is stable, if low."

"She will in time," Frigga assured her son. "It seems to be a case of simple exhaustion. You say she used some sort of shadow magic to kill Arlen?"

Loki remembering what Tilaria had whispered to him telepathically before she had blacked out. _*Don't say it was blood magic that I did, say anything else besides that. Hallien will kill me…*_

Loki had believed that she meant that literally, and had been shaken by the terror in her voice at the prospect of the elves finding out about her blood magic. Rather than say it was the forbidden art of blood magic, Loki had claimed she had used elemental shadow magic to make her shadow come to life and kill. It was an acceptable answer.

"Yes," Loki repeated his lie, feeling a little bad for having to lie to his mother.

His right jacket sleeve moved and Slítas poked his head out of Loki's collar. Slítas was exactly why Frigga had set her hand on Loki's left shoulder as the snake was usually wrapped around Loki's right arm. The snake politely tipped its head to Frigga in a bow by way of greeting, and then headbutted Loki's cheek. Loki reached up and scratched him under his chin without looking away from Tilaria.

Surely she would wake up soon, Loki pleaded to himself. She had siphoned off of Loki's lifeforce to use her blood spell and bring her shadow to life, and he had already recovered. Tilaria should wake up. Frigga kissed Loki on his cheek and then left her son to his vigil.

* * *

><p>Odin stood on the end of the Rainbow Bridge within Heimdall's Observatory, upset with every right to be. Arlen and Hallien had grown up together, so for Arlen to do something like this without Hallien's knowledge was not possible.<p>

"To try to assassinate his own foster daughter in my dining hall is one thing, but to target my sons is quite another!" Odin ranted, getting out a bit of his frustration at the situation before he opened the Link.

Heimdall stood stoically with his orange eyes distant, waiting until Odin took a breath before speaking. "There is no proof that King Hallien was behind the Arlen's attempt, but it is a possibility."

Odin grimaced and composed himself, standing in front of the gateway. The Light Elves had long wished to dethrone the Asgardians. They were so sure of their own superiority that they believed they should rule. Never had they respected Asgard's command and for whatever reason they believed the Asgardians were untrustworthy oath-breakers as well as inferior. This attack on Tilaria had to be yet another effort to shift the balance of power to their benefit.

Alfheim's standing army was about equal to Asgard's although Odin would admit that the Elves were far better trained and more disciplined. Their lack of emotions and intense battle training that began as children had made them devastating warriors in combat. Light Elves, the realms had learned the hard way, had no word equal to "mercy" in their language and no concept of it.

Lucky for Asgard, the Light Elves were logical above all else and would not attack randomly. They would only attack when they belied it made sense logically, when they had a valid excuse for a war. What bothered Odin then was how idiotic Arlen's attack had been. Why attack so boldly, knowing it would only lead to Alfheim getting in trouble? If it was a full attack then why hadn't the other Ljósálfr in Arlen's escort reinforced him, why would he fight on his own?

"Open the link," Odin ordered finally, hopefully he would get some answers but knowing how unlikely that was at the same time.

Heimdall slid his sword into the Observatory and activated the Link. The gateway glowing and took on a reflective sheen, solidifying himself into the image of King Hallien in his throne room.

"Hallien," Odin began curtly.

"Allfather," Hallien replied in an equally calm manner, "to what do I owe this unexpected honor?"

This Link allowed the heads of realms to communicate with Asgard without needing to leave their realm. Usually they linked the throne rooms together for a conversation, but Odin could also speak to them from Heimdall's Observatory, Himinbjörg, for more privacy. Usually, Heimdall used the Link to deliver messages from Asgard to the other realms, but not this time.

"The ambassador you sent me tried to assassinate your daughter and my sons." Odin was in no mood for the typical elfin banter.

"I have a son," Hallien nodded, "but no daughter. As you are using the Link instead of coming in person I presume your sons are still alive. What of Arlen?"

Odin tightened his grip on Gungnir's golden staff when he realized that Hallien didn't care about the life of Tilaria or Odin's sons. "He was killed during his attack."

Hallien remained quiet, expression perfectly neutral. His beauty was as flawless as any elf, and like all elves his ice blue eyes were cold as ice and held no emotion in them. It took him a few seconds to process the information.

"I see," Hallien said in a soft voice once the information sank in.

The soft edge in his voice surprised Odin as much as his hesitation. Hadn't Hallien been the one to order Arlen to kill? Why should he be surprised by the news?

"I shall need Arlen's body back," Hallien spoke again in a calm emotionless voice that was expected of a Ljósálfr. "As well as the rest of his escort, and the halfbreed if she is still alive. Considering the circumstances I do not think you want them on your realm."

Odin had to try to not flinch at Hallien's words and tone. How Hallien treated Tilaria was far from right, but she was not his child, she was Hallien's. It was not Odin's position.

"I do not," Odin agreed with Alfheim's king, a rare occurrence.

Hallien must have noticed how short Odin's voice was, for he apprised Odin with eyes like chips of ice. "I assure you I had no idea what Arlen was going to do. I sent him as an ambassador, not an assassin. His actions, taken for unknown reason, are his own."

"Of course no," Odin replied tightly, certain that if Arlen had succeed that Hallien's answer would be very different.

He was finding it harder and harder to speak to Hallien, getting more frustrated with his lies then with Loki's. Hallien solved the matter for Odin when he turned away and broke the Link's connection with the Emerald Crown. His image faded as Bifrost returned to normal.

Odin half looked like he wanted to order Heimdall to open Bifrost so he could go strangle Hallien in person, and Heimdall hoped Odin didn't actually request he open Bifrost. He didn't thankfully, but it was obvious that he was still infuriated with Alfhiem's king.

Hallien, back on Alfhiem, was also infuriated. He was more confused than infuriated however and remained standing in his throne room even after the Link's end. Arlen was dead, and since Odin had no reason to lie to Hallien he likely had not. How could his friend be dead? Tilaria was supposed to be the one who was dead, not Arlen.

Odin had mentioned that Arlen had tried to kill his sons, but Hallien didn't understand that either. Arlen was supposed to arrange for the Golden Eagles or others to kill them and Tilaria, not do it himself. Why would he attack them itself?

This was supposed to end in Alfheim becoming the ruling race, for Asgard was not fit to rule. The only reason they had defeated Laufey during the Ice War on Midgard that began in 965 AD was not because of Asgardian military strength or righteous high ground, but because of what had happened on Jötunnheim. Laufey's wife and infant son, hidden in a temple away from his capital city of Útgardr, had been murdered by Asgardian troops – innocents who had been sheltering in a temple. That was what lengths Asgard went to in order to win wars and that did not begin to explain the fact that the Dökkálfr had become extinct after losing to Asgard.

Asgard was not fit to rule the nine, or rather eight realms now. Tilaria was supposed to be killed by Æsir, thus making Asgard's royal family responsible for her murder. Why would Arlen do it himself and make Alfhiem the one at fault? Because of that, Alfheim had no excuse that Asgard could not keep its own people under control and such had no right to rule the other realms while there was such internal strife.

Because of Arlen's actions, Hallien had needed to make excuses and be _grateful_ that Odin's sons were both still alive. They could not attack Asgard now, and there was nothing for Hallien to do but make his troops stand down. The overthrow of Asgard had been stopped in its tracks.

What were you thinking Arlen, to try and kill Tilaria yourself? We had a great plan to force a war with Asgard. It would have made us rulers. What had happened?

* * *

><p><strong>What happened indeed? Why did Hallien's plan not work? Crow is the reason why not, but no one know Crow exists or who (or what) he is. The forces at play across the Nine Realms are dangerous, and Crow has the realms playing to his tune.<strong>


	8. A Week

Loki felt his eyes growing heavy and his head bobbed. He was about to fall asleep in the chair again. Straightening, he shook his head to try and stay awake. He managed a small time spell that told him it was just midway to dinner.

Yawning, he gave a small stretch. Slítas was asleep on his lap and he didn't want to wake him so Loki didn't stand up to try and coax his body awake. As he lowered his arms he looked at Tilaria as she slept. Why wouldn't she wake up?

_*Why don't you go find a bed?*_ a voice whispered in his head.

Loki almost fell out of the chair in surprise from the voice, and Slítas fell out of his lap. Slítas hissed as he landed on his back upside-down, having been woken up quite rudely.

"Tilaria?" Loki asked.

Tilaria opened her eyes, and said _*hello*_ telepathically, not trusting her voice.

"You're awake," Loki smiled and brightened. "Don't move, I'll be right back."

Tilaria watched in amusement as Loki tripped over the leg of his chair as he tried to run to the door. He fell with an oomph and got back to his feet in a flash. When Loki pushed open the door to the main medical ward where the healers were he almost slammed it open and startled the Silver Arrow who was standing guard by the door.

She half-drew her shortsword at Loki's loud exit as he ran past her calling for Fey and Eir. His voice was cheerful, and the Silver Arrow curiously peered inside the doorway to try and figure out what had happened. Tilaria was sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, awake at last. There was no cause for alarm here, and she sheathed her blade with a click. Her collapsed recurve bow in her hand was clipped back onto her belt.

Slítas rolled over onto his belly and shook his head. He lifted his head off the ground and stuck out his tongue in the direction Loki had went in an immature fashion. Loki hadn't even bothered to make sure he was okay before running from the room. His Jötunn friend could be quite annoying Slítas thought as he slithered up the leg of the chair and coiled on the seat cushion with a sound that sounded distinctively like a huff.

Loki came back before long with Fey at his side. Fey went and checked on Tilaria, motioning for the girl to lay back down for the moment, and Loki stood by his chair. He thought about sitting down, but saw his cobra had already occupied the seat.

Slítas raised his head and stuck his tongue out at Loki again before laying his head down. Loki stared, wondering what he had done to deserve that. Then he remembered he had left Slítas lying on the floor and shyly knelt in front of his cobra.

"I'm sorry for leaving you on the floor Slítas," Loki told him honestly. "I was excited that Tilaria was awake finally."

Slítas half-tilted his head towards Loki without raising it, and Loki reached out and scratched Slítas behind his crystals. The place was something of a sweet spot, and Slítas flared his hood slightly in pleasure. Loki smiled victoriously and risked picking up his snake. Although Slítas had never bitten Loki using his venom that turned blood to ice before, he did not want there to be a first time.

Slítas looked at Loki as if debating whether or not to do just that, but settled down and slithered up Loki's right jacket sleeve to his usual perch with his head poking out of Loki's collar. His crystals were a relaxed dark blue. The crystals Slítas had were ice as well as mineral, and a trait unique to a few creatures of Jötunnheim.

There were three crystals in a bunch that grew from the outer corner, or lateral canthus, of each of his eyes. They were shaped like narrow pentagonal prisms, about twice as long as they were wide, and tipped with a pentagonal pyramid. The crystal in the middle of the three was slightly longer and larger than the two on either side of it.

He had a total of six crystals, two bunches of three which mirrored each other with bilateral symmetry. His crystals didn't do much but provide him with an exotic look, but they did change color depending on his moods. The dark blue they were currently colored was because he was relaxed and willing to forgive Loki.

Loki and Slítas were both shooed away by Fey suddenly. Fey had decided that Tilaria had recovered and now needed the boys to leave so she could change back into her clothes in peace. They did so, leaving Fey to shake her head that they had hung around to begin with.

"I'll have some food sent up while you change," Fey informed Tilaria.

Tilaria nodded, and Fey also left. Once the door closed Tilaria changed from the temporary clothes she had been given back into her pink outfit. Her right bracer had been badly torn from Arlen's strike, and Tilaria used a touch of magic to fix it. The effort of the charm left her a little dizzy, but she put the bracer on anyway.

Food came in due course, and Tilaria gladly ate to restore her strength sapped by the blood magic and the forceshield.

The matter of the forceshield was a fierce debate between the mages. As non-Asgardian magic the barriers that protected Asgard should have shut it down immediately. That wasn't what happened though, and the barriers didn't sound the alarm that there was a hostile foreigner trying to kill Prince Thor and his brother.

How had Arlen managed to skirt the barriers senses? The barriers were Asgard's first and primary line of defense so for Arlen to have managed this was troubling. Whatever had happened, it was clear that Arlen knew something he shouldn't. It was unfortunate that he was dead and his secret to dodging the barriers had died with him. Now the flaw in the barriers would never be found, or fixed.

If Arlen knew of this weak link then it was possible the other Ljósálfr with him did as well, which meant that the ambassadors were a security risk. So once Tilaria finished eating, she and the three surviving members of Arlen's escort were ushered to the Bifrost so they could return to Alfhiem. Hallien wanted them and Arlen's body back as soon as possible, so the action did not look as suspicious or desperate as it could have.

They were there now, and against Odin' judgment he had allowed his sons to see Tilaria off. The princes stood with Tilaria as Arlen's escort left with his body. Tilaria was the next to leave despite awakening less than an hour before. She understood that Asgard wouldn't be thrilled to have the Light Elves here since Arlen had gone around the barriers, and Loki had said she had used shadow magic. Although the element of darkness was not forbidden like her blood, its use still made the Æsir uneasy.

"Tilaria," Loki asked had while he had the chance as Heimdall reset Bifrost for her departure. "Why were you spying on us while Thor was sparring?"

Tilaria shrugged, a little unsure how to answer. "I was curious more than anything. There are many stories about the Æsir on our realm, and about Asgard's princes."

"Stories about us?" Thor asked in surprise, imagining the tales told about him.

Tilaria nodded. "It's said that Mjölnir, the weapon forged from the heart of a dying star, has chosen you to be its wielder, Thor. Once you are old enough and worthy of its power you will wield it."

"That's right," Thor said excitedly.

"Until Thor masters his connection with Mjölnir all he does is make it rain," Loki interrupted, earning a scowl from Thor. "You've been bonded to Mjölnir to a century Thor, you should know by now how to control the storms."

Thor looked away with a humph, wishing he did know. The sooner he got control over Mjölnir's magic the sooner he could wield it.

Tilaria wondered if the brothers always picked on each other as she kept speaking. "There are also tales about something else that happened a century ago. Loki, did you really use the Tesseract? No mortal can even touch it without being vaporized from its power, and you not only survived, but used its power."

"I did," Loki nodded, "but it's not like it dosed me or anything. A mortal like me getting a dose of energy from the Tesseract would vaporize me."

"And you lost the Tesseract right after that," Thor reminded his brother.

This time Loki gave Thor the irritated look at the reminder that Loki had thrown the Tesseract into the Void around Asgard where it had vanished to keep it from Nira. As it was the Infinity Stone of Space, it could have teleported itself anywhere once its power activated, maybe even to a place outside the Nine Realms. The Tesseract's current location was unknown, and "up for grabs" so to speak.

"We'll tell you about what happened last century when you come back," Thor promised Tilaria. "There was a lot of stuff like Nira, an attack by the Jötnar, Freyr's betrayal, and then Nira coming back again."

"Thor," Loki interrupted in an exasperated tone in, "you do realize that you're missing a few events?"

"But that's the important stuff," Thor defended.

"That's just the battles," Loki argued.

"Exactly," Thor agreed. "The important stuff that makes it interesting to listen to."

"You're a moron," Loki sighed and closed his eyes.

"Heiress," Heimdall interrupted the children gently, "I am ready to send you home."

Heimdall had been ready for some time now, but he hadn't wanted to interrupt their conversation.

"Very well Heimdall," Tilaria said respectfully.

She turned to the princes, and both looked sad.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Tilaria lied smoothly. "Maybe a week or so when Hallien sends another ambassador, if he does, and if Odin allows him."

"A week," Thor agreed with a sad look after a pause.

_*A week*_ Tilaria repeated telepathically.

She knew that she was lying. After all, she had killed Arlen, the person Hallien considered his brother. Hallien would make her pay for ending his life even if it was done to save Odin's son, or perhaps because it was done to save Asgard's heirs. It was doubtful that she would live for more than a few minutes after she returned to Alfhiem.

The brothers didn't know that though, and Tilaria didn't want them to know that. Her eyes flickered over to Loki, and decided that maybe she could still end her visit with them smiling.

_*Do you want to help me with my spells when I return?*_ She asked Loki without moving her lips.

Loki had figured out how to respond telepathically and he did so, although he was surprised Tilaria was speaking to him.

_*Sure*_ Loki agreed with a smile. _*If you'll show me some of the Ljósálfr's spells.*_

_*Agreed*_ Tilaria told him and let her telepathy fade.

"Goodbye," Thor said.

"Bye," Loki said as well.

"Goodbye both of you," Tilaria told them.

Then she walked over to where Heimdall was patiently waiting. The gateway to Bifrost activated and the brothers stood still as lightning crackled around the Observatory, watching it activate in awe. Tilaria's image became a silhouette in the intense light of Bifrost and then she was gone.

The Princes stood there for a brief time, looking after her, and Heimdall did not make the princes leave. They finally left and walked over to where their horses were. Although the mages had teleported the Ljósálfr over to Bifrost, Thor and Loki had caught up to them on their horses.

Trying to run the length of Bifrost was insane, and Loki's magic was still drained from being used in Tilaria's blood spell to teleport them. The brothers mounted up and started to walk their horses along the Rainbow Bridge to Gladsheimr.

"Wait a minute," Thor said suddenly as something dawned on him. "Her lips weren't moving."

"Hmm?" Loki asked.

"When she said 'a week!'" Thor explained. "Her lips weren't moving. How did I hear her?"

"She's a telepath." Loki answered Thor as if it were common knowledge, taking pleasure in Thor's stunned appearance.

"She's a WHAT!" Thor demanded. "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!"

"She was born with the ability, like all true telepaths are," Loki assured Thor. "It's sort of like my ice."

Loki wondered briefly why he could manipulate his ice so well since he was an Æsir and not a Jötunn. He brushed it off as he usually did, deciding it couldn't be that important.

"Hey wait a minute," Thor demanded suddenly as he realize something suddenly. "She said something to you after she said a week. I know she did. You smiled!"

Loki clicked his horse into a trot with a soft laugh, daring his brother to catch him silently.

Thor put his heels to his horse to catch up, with a complaint of, "BROTHER!"

Tilaria had gotten her wish, and the visit had ended for them in a smile.

* * *

><p><strong>Are you surprised that Tilaria is going to be killed? She knows she is, but she's going back anyway. I suppose she's doing it because she doesn't trust Asgard enough to tell them what's going on because if she had then Odin might have let her stay as a sort of protective custody. Believe it or not, Hallien is going to be very grateful to have Tilaria's help shortly. How well they can work together remains to be seen.<strong>


	9. Hallien's Answer

The blue star of the space where Crow was cast strange shadows on the asteroid field, and nebulous clouds floated beneath the star-filled sky. Crow currently stood contently on a shard of asteroid. Things had gone perfectly.

Crow had not lost his touch to manipulate mortals like Arlen, and all it had taken to make the ambassador try and kill the Halfling girl were a few whispers in his mind that he thought were his own, and some Dreamspeaking. It had been so easy it was almost boring.

The only problem Crow saw was that Arlen had mentioned his name, and it had been heard by the Tilaria girl. It could be problematic for even his alias of _Crow_ to become known since he had only one chance to carry out his plan. Hallien was presumably going to eliminate her though, so Crow didn't give it much thought.

An unexpected side effect of this little endeavor was that he had been able to stop Asgard from going to war. Arlen attacking directly had forced Hallien to wreck his own plan and dismiss Arlen's actions, stopping the takeover before it began. A little internal strife was always fun for Crow to watch, especially among the Nine Realms, but he didn't want Asgard to go to war right now.

Asgard was where Loki lived, and Loki was still young and inexperienced, alien to battle and killing. If Asgard went to war now with Loki as he was then there was a chance the boy might be killed. It was a risk Crow could not allow if he could stop it, for he needed Loki and his ability to control the Tesseract in the future. The fact that Arlen had tried to kill Loki was agonizing, but Loki had proven resourceful enough to stay alive. It was impressive.

Once Loki was older, then manipulating Asgard into war with another race would be a good idea. The challenge would further Loki's fighting skills and give him a taste for blood that Crow needed Loki to have if he wanted to use the boy in the future. For now however, Crow simply needed Loki to stay safe.

How fortunate Loki was to have a guardian angel like me, Crow chuckled to himself.

Hallien's confusion over Arlen's change of personality and actions was of no concern to Crow either although it amused him. Since Tilaria was soon going to be killed the realms would not even know of "Crow's" existence.

The next stage of Crow's plan was already in motion, and he thought it might be wise to check how things were going on Alfheim. He needed to make sure Tilaria did die since she was the only one who know of Crow's hand in Arlen's actions, and to make sure that his newest pawns were playing their part. If they were, then the Ljósálfr should soon be eliminated just as the Dark Elves had been.

That would leave only seven of the Nine Realms for Crow to deal with, and if his plan continued to go as it should then that number would continue to get lower. Little did the realms know what they were in for.

**THE END**

**To Be Continued In…**

**'2 One Month One War'**

_Pre-Thor. Sequel to "The Supers before the Heroes." Tilaria returns to Alfheim knowing Hallien will kill her, but she isn't the true threat to Alfheim for Crow's newest pawn is a traitor with blood magic and elves loyal to him. He wants King Hallien dead, and only blood can counter blood. As a blood mage herself, Tilaria is the only one who can stop him and Crow's newest plan._

* * *

><p><strong>Here is the answer to Hallien's question of why, but do you wish you hadn't known? Tilaria is the only one who heard Arlen mention Crow's name, so she's the only one that knows he's involved. Even though she knows his name, all that is known is his name. It's not that important since Crow's name is likely going to come up again during his "next stage" involving Alfheim. <strong>

**If you're curious about Crow and his interest in Loki, read ****_A Different Kind Of Courage_. That details Loki's use of the Tesseract, and how so many people first noticed him. Consider that a mortal can't touch an Infinity Stone, excepting the Aether but it kills its host anyway, and how hard it is to harness the limitless power of one of them. Loki can do it without trying, so it makes him a target.**


End file.
